Riddle solved: Why was Roman concrete so durable? | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Skip to content ↓
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Search websites, locations, and people
See More Results
Suggestions or feedback?
Enter keywords to search for news articles:
Submit
Browse By
Topics
View All →
Explore:
Machine learning
Sustainability
Startups
Black holes
Classes and programs
Departments
View All →
Explore:
Aeronautics and Astronautics
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Architecture
Political Science
Mechanical Engineering
Centers, Labs, & Programs
View All →
Explore:
Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
Media Lab
Lincoln Laboratory
Schools
School of Architecture + Planning
School of Engineering
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Sloan School of Management
School of Science
MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
View all news coverage of MIT in the media →
Listen to audio content from MIT News →
Subscribe to MIT newsletter →
Close
Breadcrumb
MIT News
Riddle solved: Why was Roman concrete so durable?
Riddle solved: Why was Roman concrete so durable?
An unexpected ancient manufacturing strategy may hold the key to designing concrete that lasts for millennia.
David L. Chandler<br>MIT News Office
Publication Date:
January 6, 2023
Press Inquiries
Press Contact:
Abby
Abazorius
Email:<br>abbya@mit.edu
Phone:<br>617-253-2709
MIT News Office
Media Download
↓ Download Image
Caption:
A large-area elemental map (Calcium: red, Silicon: blue, Aluminum: green) of a 2 cm fragment of ancient Roman concrete (right) collected from the archaeological site of Privernum, Italy (left). A calcium-rich lime clast (in red), which is responsible for the unique self-healing properties in this ancient material, is clearly visible in the lower region of the image.
Credits:
Courtesy of the researchers
↓ Download Image
Caption:
A calcium-rich lime clast (in red), which is responsible for the unique self-healing properties in this ancient material, is clearly visible in the lower region of the large-area elemental map (Calcium: red, Silicon: blue, Aluminum: green) of a 2 cm fragment of ancient Roman concrete.
Credits:
Courtesy of the researchers
*Terms of Use:
Images for download on the MIT News office website are made available to non-commercial entities, press and the general public under a<br>Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives license.<br>You may not alter the images provided, other than to crop them to size. A credit line must be used when reproducing images; if one is not provided<br>below, credit the images to "MIT."
Close
Caption:
A large-area elemental map (Calcium: red, Silicon: blue, Aluminum: green) of a 2 cm fragment of ancient Roman concrete (right) collected from the archaeological site of Privernum, Italy (left). A calcium-rich lime clast (in red), which is responsible for the unique self-healing properties in this ancient material, is clearly visible in the lower region of the image.
Credits:
Courtesy of the researchers
Previous image<br>Next image
The ancient Romans were masters of engineering, constructing vast networks of roads, aqueducts, ports, and massive buildings, whose remains have survived for two millennia. Many of these structures were built with concrete: Rome’s famed Pantheon, which has the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome and was dedicated in 128 C.E., is still intact, and some ancient Roman aqueducts still deliver water to Rome today. Meanwhile, many modern concrete structures have crumbled after a few decades.
Researchers have spent decades trying to figure out the secret of this ultradurable ancient construction material, particularly in structures that endured especially harsh conditions, such as docks, sewers, and seawalls, or those constructed in seismically active locations.
Now, a team of investigators from MIT, Harvard University, and laboratories in Italy and Switzerland, has made progress in this field, discovering ancient concrete-manufacturing strategies that incorporated several key self-healing functionalities. The findings are published today in the journal Science Advances, in a paper by MIT professor of civil and environmental engineering Admir Masic, former doctoral student Linda Seymour ’14, PhD ’21, and four others.
For many years, researchers have assumed that the key to the ancient concrete’s durability was based on one ingredient: pozzolanic material such as volcanic ash from the area of Pozzuoli, on the Bay of Naples. This specific kind of ash was even shipped all across the vast Roman empire to be used in construction, and was described as a key ingredient for concrete in accounts by architects and historians at the time.
Under closer examination, these ancient samples also contain small, distinctive, millimeter-scale bright white mineral features, which have been long recognized as a ubiquitous component of Roman...